Cardiovascular reactivity in hypertensives: differential effect of expressing and inhibiting emotions during moments of interpersonal stress

This study investigated cardiovascular reactivity of hypertensive adults during periods of emotional stress. Two types of instructions were given at different moments, to the same subject, either to express or to suppress feelings during role-play. Expressing, but not inhibiting, emotions elicited significantly higher reactivity during responding to negative scenes, followed by responding during the positive interactions. Blood pressure increases in both expressing and inhibiting conditions, were also found during the instruction periods. Results indicated that socially demanding situations represent a stressor whose effects may vary depending on whether or not respondents regulate expression of emotions. It is suggested that the difficulty in expressing emotions found in some hypertensive individuals may have the function of controlling or reducing blood pressure reactivity.     

Responses to symptom induction exercises in panic disorder

Exposure to panic symptoms (interoceptive exposure) is often included as part of treatment for panic disorder (PD), although little is known about the relative effects of particular symptom induction exercises. This study describes responses of individuals with PD and nonclinical controls to 13 standard symptom induction exercises and 3 control exercises. Generally, individuals with PD responded more strongly to symptom induction exercises than did controls. The exercises producing the most fear included spinning, hyperventilation, breathing through a straw, and using a tongue depressor. This study also reports findings regarding specific symptoms triggered by each exercise, the percentage of participants reporting fear during each exercise, and predictors of fear.     

The impact of anxiety on sexual arousal in women

This study examined the impact of state anxiety, trait anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity on physiological and self-report measures of sexual arousal and sexual function in a non-clinical sample of women. Physiological sexual responses to an erotic stimulus were assessed using vaginal photoplethysmography, and subjective reactions were measured using questionnaires. Results suggested a curvilinear relationship between state anxiety and physiological sexual arousal (vaginal pulse amplitude; VPA). Trait anxiety and anxiety sensitivity were correlated with self-reported sexual arousal outside the laboratory. The findings may be interpreted in light of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) influences on sexual arousal and potential cognitive interference mechanisms associated with anxiety.     

Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression in adolescent peer groups: links with academic performance and school attendance

This article reports a short-term longitudinal study focusing on popularity and social acceptance as predictors of academic engagement for a sample of 342 adolescents (approximate average age of 14). These youths were followed for 4 consecutive semesters. Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression were assessed with a peer nomination inventory, and data on academic engagement were obtained from school records. For adolescents who were highly aggressive, increases in popularity were associated with increases in unexplained absences and decreases in grade point average. Conversely, changes in social acceptance were not predictive of changes in grade point average or unexplained absences. These results highlight the importance of multidimensional conceptualizations of social standing for research on school adjustment during adolescence and emphasize the potential risks associated with popularity.     

Factor structure of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Form A) and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire: an exploratory study

The factor structure of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire was investigated with a sample of 344 male military recruits. Principal factor analyses with promax rotation indicated four factors for the former, labeled Performance Evaluation, Need for Approval, Autonomous Attitude, and Perfectionism which accounted for 15.5%, 3.6%, 2.6%, and 2.5% of the total variance, respectively. Two factors comprised the latter. Factor 1 was labeled Negative Self-concept and Personal Maladjustment and accounted for 40% of the total variance, and Factor 2 was labeled Desire for Change and Negative Expectations and accounted for 6.3% of the total variance. The findings may be useful in identifying the specific dysfunctional beliefs and negative automatic thoughts exhibited by military recruits. Such information can also contribute to the development of more effective treatment interventions.     

The phenomenon of the tip of the tongue in aging

This paper presents new data on the tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon and its resolution in aging. 140 volunteers ranging from 19 to 82 years participated in an experiment using definitions about common names, proper names, adjectives and verbs to elicit TOTs. We studied the resolution of the TOTs introducing a free word-recall task and a priming task. Older adults experienced more TOTs than younger adults regardless of the level of vocabulary. Phonological priming, and not free recall of words, improved resolution for the older adults. The results are discussed in relation to the theory of the transmission deficit.